Interesting facts about parenting

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Decision to be or not to be a parent:

Parenthood signifies adulthood-- the final irreversible end of youthful roles.

Decision to be or not to be a parent- BENEFITS:

Happiness and joy -96% of first time parents said that they were "in love" with their baby. -91% of first time parents said that they were "happier than ever before".A sense of fulfillment -Children bring a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment; life without children would be incomplete.

Costs of having children:

By the time the child is 17 years old, parents will spend about $242,000.

Study on social costs of having children:

Most conflict during pregnancy were related to lower levels of relationship quality across the transition to parenthood.

Study on social costs of having children:

In year 1, spouses who would become parents were happier than those who would remain childless.

Study on social costs of having children:

By year 3, there was no longer significant difference in happiness, attributable largely to the decline of happiness of new parents.

Men to made the transition to parenthood did not differ from childless men in either year 1 or year 3.

What is so significant about parenting?

Children's outcomes depend on what parents do and the type of environment they create for the child. -By 2 years of age, children whose mothers speak to them frequently and responsively have vocabularies that are 8 times greater than those of children whose mothers speak less frequently.

What is so significant about parenting?

By age three, most children's brain actually develop 95%. -They are ready to learn -Their personality has already formed

What is so significant about parenting?

Frontal lobe of child: -"executive functions" -Controls long-term consequences and impulses -To develop properly, parents need to help children day to day functions